'It took up all my time': Parents move mountains to get in the zone

But when the new Beaumaris Secondary College was finally announced, her excitement turned into disappointment: she wasn’t in the zone.

It was a huge blow for the family, who had already moved from Mentone to Cheltenham to be closer to the site earmarked for the school.

“It was devastating,” Ms Connor said.

She says she didn’t consider appealing the zoning decision because she knew her chances of success were low, even though she could have argued that Beaumaris Secondary would be the most convenient high school for her children Abigail, 11, and Xavier, 9, because it didn’t involve crossing major highways.

Ms Connor could have also pointed out that she spent six years lobbying politicians, harnessing community support and securing a pledge from Labor to build the school on the former Beaumaris campus of Sandringham College.

Instead, the family moved house for a second time, finally securing a home within the zone.

“We are here and we are happy and that’s all that matters,” she said.

Last year, just 10 per cent of the 266 families who appealed enrolment decisions at Victorian state schools were successful.

"Laura Simpson" – who doesn’t want to use her real name because she fears it could jeopardise her daughter’s enrolment – was among them.

She went to extreme lengths to secure an enrolment at Melbourne Girls College after being told she wasn’t in the zone.

She forked out $1000 for a land surveyor who used satellite signals to determine the distance between her home in Kew and the sought-after state school.

The surveyor's report provided the vital evidence she needed. It proved that Melbourne Girls College was her nearest school, undermining what the Education Department had told her.

“It was an amazing, and painful experience,” she said.

“I spent six months trying to get her into the school. It took up all my time; I was ruminating about it 24 hours a day.”

Ms Simpson said she wanted her daughter to go to Melbourne Girls College because she was impressed by its students. Her daughter wanted to learn in a single-sex environment alongside her friends from primary school.

Parents who want to overturn an enrolment decision must first lodge an appeal with the school in question.

If unsuccessful, they can then appeal to the department’s regional director.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said families with queries about school boundaries and zones should contact the school involved or their regional office.

“We want every Victorian government school to be the school of choice for its local community,” he said.

The opposition’s education spokesman, Tim Smith, said school zoning rules were too confusing.

“It’s not clear which school zones are enforceable and which aren’t,” he said.

“The Andrews government is still working off Melways that are 20 years out of date.”

When it comes to parents trying to bend the zoning rules, McKinnon Secondary College principal Pitsa Binnion has seen every trick in the book.

One desperate parent even created a bogus address in McKinnon’s sought-after zone by installing a fake letterbox in a resident’s front yard. The letterbox read 12A, but no property existed for that address.

“I have parents falling over in front of me begging,” she said. “It’s very traumatic to manage.”

The school knocks back 150 applicants every year because they aren’t in the zone, and about 15 of these families appeal to the school. Only a few are successful.

One student from a local primary school, who had a learning difficulty and had attached himself to friends who were attending McKinnon Secondary was successful. He had become a school refuser and the school accepted his appeal on compassionate grounds.

Another student, who had been accepted into the school while living in the zone, had to move out of the area when her father died. She was also successful.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Ms Binnion said.

“You have a very clear framework but you are dealing with people. Behind all these names are young people and their families.”